A seminal document published in 2005 which looked at the numbers of civil engineering practitioners employed in South Africa and the future needs. Considering the skills pipeline and blockages that existed, many recommendations were made – from schooling through to tertiary education, graduate training and the use of retired engineers to act as mentors and offer specialist input. The document has been widely circulated and the recommendations have formed the basis for many major national and international initiatives.
Addressing civil engineering – the critical profession for service delivery: The book was researched over several years, and published in 2007. It was found that the number of civil engineering practitioners employed in local government was about half of the number employed in the late 1980s, while the population being serviced in the new wall-to-wall local government model had trebled. The book highlighted the urgent need to rebuild civil engineering capacity in local government, streamline procedures, and separate political and administration functions and responsibilities to ensure effective service delivery.
Published by the Department of Higher Education and Training in 2014, the book considers the scarce skills required to deliver the Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) outlined in the National Infrastructure Plan. After detailed research, it was determined that 76 occupations were in short supply, including built environment professionals, managers, tradespeople, operators and elementary occupations. Projections and detailed recommendations were published to ensure that everyone involved in training and development worked towards addressing the national shortages.
After two years of research, this comprehensive document, completed in December 2018, found the engineering skills challenges to be similar in all SADC countries – poor schooling, inadequate capacity and resources to deliver quality tertiary education and limited graduate training are preventing the growth of tomorrow’s engineering leaders. Qualification standards and professional registration approaches were found to vary considerably, which need to be addressed to allow the mobility of engineering professionals within the region.